so saqlain made it to the team 
wat abt waqar?
saqlain in 
so no afridi:teary1:
no afridi :k:
no waqar 
so what ever happened to kamran akmal... he was supposed to be the wicket keeper of the future... but since moin came back nobody has heard of him ever since...
No alcohol ads during historic Pakistan-India series](Yahoo is part of the Yahoo family of brands.)
KARACHI (AFP) - Pakistan cricket authorities have banned alcohol advertisements on cricket grounds during the upcoming Pakistan-India cricket series set to revive ties between the rivals, officials said.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) opened the sponsorship bids for various categories on Saturday. Results of the bids are to be revealed in the next few days after considering objections raised by some Pakistani and Indian companies.
“No seller of beverages, meaning any drink containing alcohol will be allowed to be the title sponsor or the co-sponsor,” said the PCB bid documents.
Alcohol is banned in Pakistan and no alcohol advertisements are allowed in the media and outdoors.
India is due to play three Tests and five one-day games in March-April on their first tour to Pakistan since 1989-90 after New Delhi lifted a bilateral series ban in October last year.
The final itinerary would only be announced once a three-member Indian delegation completes a security assessment tour starting from Monday.
Pakistan expects a windfall of over 20 million dollars from the series as 14 companies from Pakistan, India, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore took part in the open bidding.
The title sponsors will have the right to name the series which current proposals for the series tile being the Friendship series or the Imran-Kapil (after legendary Pakistan and Indian all-rounders Imran Khan and Kapil Dev).
Several teams refused to tour Pakistan after security fears sparked in the events following the September 11 attacks on US in 2001.
Pakistan had to play its home series against West Indies and Australia on neutral venues in 2002 while the same year New Zealand’s tour was cut short by a Test after a suicide bomb blast which killed 14 people in Karachi in May.
Ganguly - ‘We are worried about security in Pakistan’
Ganguly - ‘We are worried about security in Pakistan’
Wisden Cricinfo staff
February 9, 2004
Sourav Ganguly has said the Indian team is worried about the security situation in Pakistan, a month before they are scheduled to tour. “We are not worried about the Pakistan tour, we are worried about the security there,” said Ganguly after India had lost the second final of the VB Series at Sydney.
“We are concerned because we have families at home and it is not going to be easy. We have to go back and talk to the BCCI and get a clearer picture,” said Ganguly. The BCCI’s three-man advance team left for Pakistan on the morning of February 9 to inspect Lahore, Multan, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, Karachi and Faisalabad, the various venues India is scheduled to play at. The team, comprising Ratnakar Shetty, the joint secretary of the BCCI, Amrit Mathur, director of communication and Yashvardhan Azad, a security expert.
However, Ganguly clarified that the team had not made any decision yet about withdrawing from the tour. “I have heard some reports that players are not going to tour Pakistan, which is untrue. Our only worry is security. Any further comment won’t be fair at this stage.”
dont worry Ganguly is always concerned about something:p
Very stupid of Ganguly to be concerned about his security. Actually, I take it back. He is right. He started playing cricket in 96 and has NEVER visited Pakistan. So, it must be the fear of the unknown. But it is still very stupid of him to show concern over something he has no experience of.
A three-man delegation from India has arrived in Pakistan to inspect security arrangements ahead of their team's forthcoming tour.
They will visit Multan, Rawalpindi, Islamabad, Peshawar, Karachi, Faisalabad and Lahore during the trip.
India have not played Test cricket in Pakistan since 1989-90.
A provisional itinerary has been drawn up, which has yet to be confirmed, with Test matches set to take place in Lahore, Peshawar and Karachi.
RS Shetty and Amrit Mathur, joint secretary and director of communications of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, and police VIP security division inspector general Yashovardhan Azad are in Pakistan.
We are ready to welcome the Indian delegation
Rameez Raja
They will be accompanied by senior Pakistan Cricket Board officials throughout their eight-day visit.
A spokesman for the PCB said: "They have arrived in Lahore to assess security and other aspects of the tour.
"We have already committed that we will provide the best security to the Indian cricket team.
"It is a reconnaissance tour, and besides security they will assess different aspects of the tour, which include ground and accommodation facilities."
Karachi is likely to be the most contentious of the seven prospective venues.
Only Bangladesh have played there since an explosion in 2002 which prompted New Zealand to cancel a Test match and abandon their tour.
There have been other bombings in Karachi in recent weeks, but the PCB insists it will be safe for India to play at the National Stadium.
The PCB on Saturday delayed the announcement of series sponsors after protests by advertisers.
PCB chairman Shaharyar Khan played down the issue, saying it would be finalised in a transparent manner.
The home board expects to garner over £16.2m in revenues from the series.
Wait…did he make that statement after the second final? :rotfl: :rotfl:
I don't understand how security can be good at one venue and not the other. If someone is determined to do some terrorist activity, he won't postpone it because Rawalpindi is at a two hours drive from Peshawar. PCB needs to protect the players and not the cities. If they have taken good measures and have a solid security plan, then the venues become a moot point.
Ganguly doesn't need to worry about security at all. The PM of Pakistan escaped death twice. So here you go. It is expected Ganguly will be performing badly so pissing off the extreme jihadi groups shouldnt be his concern.
On the other hand, Tendulkar needs to watch his A$$
Seriously , Is pakistan really safe? with all the india -pakistan hoopla don't you think it is a good attractive venture for the terrorists?A golden chance to disrupt the whole government. All you need is one maniac suicide bomber and there you go(Allah na karay) The consequence could be very devastating.Looking at our prevalent situation I'm kinda skeptic about this series.
:flower1: "India raise safety concerns " :flower1:](BBC SPORT | Cricket | India raise safety concerns)
- India have asked for assurances over player safety ahead of the planned tour of Pakistan next month.
Captain Sourav Ganguly will meet the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) officials to discuss the issue.
“All I can say is that the board has to answer our security concerns. We all have to take the concerns of our familiies into account,” Ganguly said.
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Sourav Ganguly says the tour will go ahead
Despite that, he stressed there was no threat to India’s first Test tour of Pakistan in 14 years going ahead.
The two teams will compete for the Samsung Cup in the Test series after the electronics company agreed a deal to be the title sponsors.
And Indian team management insist the tour is not in jeopardy despite the concerns over security.
“Every player will be going for the Pakistan tour, there’s no doubt among the players,” team manager Shivlal Yadav said.
A three-man BCCI delegation is currently in Pakistan to review security at various venues.
[thumb=E]pak18114_9925250.JPG[/thumb]
The Indian security delegation visited Rawalpindi on Tuesday
Some former Indian players have expressed doubts about whether the timing of the tour is right.
“Nobody can give any guarantees about terrorism. The whole world is concerned and the players will definitely be worried,” said Arun Lal, now secretary of the Indian Cricket Players Association.
India are due to play three Tests and five one-day internationals during the trip.
The series has been arranged after political animosity between the two countries eased with both governments agreeing to hold talks aimed at ending the decades-old dispute over Kashmir and other issues.
India will head for Pakistan after an exhausting tour to Australia, which saw them draw a four-Test series 1-1 and then lose 2-0 in the best-of-three VB Series final.
Mohinder Amarnath, a member of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning side, believes the team should have been given a longer break between the tours.
“The BCCI should have waited a few more months,” Amarnath commented. *
evil mind
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by sherrybaba: *
Ganguly doesn't need to worry about security at all. The PM of Pakistan escaped death twice. So here you go. It is expected Ganguly will be performing badly so pissing off the extreme jihadi groups shouldnt be his concern.
On the other hand, Tendulkar needs to watch his A$$
Seriously , Is pakistan really safe? with all the india -pakistan hoopla don't you think it is a good attractive venture for the terrorists?A golden chance to disrupt the whole government. All you need is one maniac suicide bomber and there you go(Allah na karay) The consequence could be very devastating.Looking at our prevalent situation I'm kinda skeptic about this series.
[/QUOTE]
Pakistan assures Indian delegation of “foolproof” security for cricket tour](Yahoo is part of the Yahoo family of brands.)
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistani authorities assured India’s visiting delegation of “foolproof” security for the forthcoming ice-breaking cricket series between the two countries, officials said.
The three-member team, which includes security expert Yashovardhan Azad, held detailed discussions with top Pakistani interior ministry official Tasneem Noorani.
The Indian officials are also due to visit Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Karachi and Peshawar, where one-day matches as well as Tests will be played during the Indian team’s tour from March 3 to April 15.
“We assured our guests that Pakistan is making foolproof security arrangements and there is no cause for any sort of worry,” Noorani told AFP after the meeting.
In addition, he said a security officer would be appointed to liaise with the Indian team.
India’s cricket tour to Pakistan will be the first for 14 years. They are due to play three Test matches and five-match one-dayers, but some high-profile Indian players have expressed concerns over security.
Following the Indian team’s return from its tour to Australia, captain Sourav Ganguly said: “We are not worried about the Pakistan tour, but we are worried about the security.”
Newspapers in India have reported that Ganguly’s family, and that of batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar, were reluctant for them to tour Pakistan due to fears over their safety.
In October last year, India lifted a bilateral ban imposed in 2000 on cricket matches against Pakistan.
Karachi and Peshawar features prominently in the delegations’ list, as venues in both cities were discarded for hosting matches by South Africa and New Zealand last year due to security fears.
The Board for Control of Cricket in India said it would only finalise the tour’s itinerary after its delegation had submitted its assessment report, due next week.
Australia and the West Indies refused to play in Pakistan in 2002 due to security fears after the US-led strikes in neighbouring Afghanistan in 2001.
New Zealand was forced to abandon its tour of Pakistan in 2002 after a bomb blast outside the team hotel in Karachi on the morning of a Test match.
But matches by Bangladesh, South Africa and New Zealand this season went ahead without trouble in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan Cricket Board Tuesday awarded the lucrative title sponsorship of the series to South Korean multi national firm Samsung, officials said.
Wisden Cricinfo staff
February 11, 2004
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Wasim Akram has a sizeable following on both sides of the divide
(c) Getty Images
Wasim Akram has called on India’s cricketers to shrug off concerns over security, and tour Pakistan next month. Akram, who retired last May, said India should follow the example of the side he led across the border in 1998-99.
“My request to Indian players is to hit security concerns out of their minds and tour Pakistan with open minds and smiles because people all over the world are anxiously waiting for the series,” he said. “The Indians must follow the Pakistan team’s example. We toured India despite death threats from fundamentalists, and the whole of India welcomed us on the tour. I know the cultures of both Pakistan and India, people are mad about cricket and I see no problems for Indian players in Pakistan.”
A three-member Indian delegation is currently in Pakistan, to assess security and also to check out the facilities ahead of a tour which will include three Tests, five one-day internationals and a three-day warm-up game.
Akram’s comments came after Sourav Ganguly, the Indian captain, had expressed fears over the security arrangements. “We are worried about the security and we all have to take the concerns of our families into account,” he had said, on his return from Australia.
Wasim acknowledged that both the players and their families had cause to be concerned, but insisted that a security guarantee from the Pakistan government could put them at ease.
“I know the families remain concerned, the same happened to our families but we toured just because of assurances from Indian government. Here, the Pakistan Government has promised full security, so the tour must go on,” he said.
As for the games themselves, Akram expected an even contest. “The Indian batting is definitely superior but they would be tired after a hectic series down under, while their bowling would struggle on good batting tracks,” he said. “In comparison, Pakistan’s bowling can come up on any track.”
© Wisden Cricinfo Ltd
:flower1: “Pakistan look to Imran” :flower1:](BBC SPORT | Cricket | Pakistan look to Imran)
- Former captain Imran Khan has agreed to take time out from his political career to help Pakistan prepare for next month’s Test series against India.
Chief selector Wasim Bari said: “Imran has confirmed his availability to hold special training sessions with the fast bowlers and discuss the series.”
Pakistan hope Imran’s experience will be of particular benefit to pacemen Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami.
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Imran is a member of the Pakistan parliament
The 22-year-old Sami struggled for form on the recent tour of New Zealand.
India are due to tour Pakistan in March and April to play three Tests and five one-day internationals.
Some Indian players have admitted they are concerned about security issues, but if the tour goes ahead it will be India’s first full tour of Pakistan in 14 years.
Imran is one of the greatest all-rounders in the game’s history and led Pakistan to success at the 1992 World Cup.
Since retiring from the game in 1992 the 51-year-old has formed his own political party and is now a member of Pakistan’s parliament. *
**
Home Ministry wants Pakistan tour postponed
**
NEW DELHI: The fate of the upcoming Indo-Pakistan cricket series appeared to be hanging by a slender thread with the home ministry advising the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) to put off the tour till after the elections.
The advice, conveyed through non-official channels, has lengthened the odds against the cricket encounter .
Though the Board is expected to announce the fate of the much-awaited series only after it hears from the three-men deputed to explore the security angle in Pakistan, the estimate here seems to be that BCCI chief Jagmohan Dalmiya will loathe to go ahead with the tour on his own and risk the outcry that is going to be there if the tour gets marred by a mishap. It is, anyway, having to deal with the squad 's reluctance to report for Pakistan duty because of safety concerns.
While the home ministry is believed to have pointed to the worries of the players ’ kin – a factor acknowledged by Indian skipper Saurav Ganguly – to impress caution upon the Board, its wariness also has to do with the NDA’s uncertainty about the fallout of the tour on its electoral prospects. The ruling coalition is said to be concerned about the fallout of a defeat of boys may be jarring in a season when it expects to romp home on the strength of the feel-good pitch.
Taking on Pakistan on its ground has not been an easy task even in ordinary circumstances. But the risk of the team saddled with security concerns not measuring upto its potential is real and conceded by a Board official. The mauling that Ganguly & Co took in the just-concluded Australian tour has also contributed to the diffidence about team’s prospects in Pakistan.
A Board official also revealed that Andhra Pradesh chief minister and NDA partner N Chandrababu Naidu also wanted the Board to put the matter into the pause mode until after the elections.
BJP leaders, who will like the tour to be put off, also argue that the postponement of the tour by a couple of months will not interfere with the process of normalisation of bilateral ties – a point that the external affairs ministry does not dispute.
So the hypothesis that the Indian team stopped playing Pakistan because of a fear of losing was correct! 
So it was never about the Pakistani government's so called "terrorist" activities in Kashmir and all the cross-border crap Indians always talk about. It's about the elections.
Shame on all the Indians who have been supporting their govt's stance to date. At least now you should all openly condemn their policies on sports.